A final farewell from the workers at V.P. and S.R.
The memorial stone from the workers at “V.P.” – Vestjyllands Papirposefabrik – and “S.R.” – Schades Rullepapirindustri – was placed on a currently unknown grave site in Skive Cemetery. It is probably placed over the manager of Vestjyllands Papirposefabrik, Carl Kaiser (? 1879 – September 25, 1926), who in 1926 drew up the plans for a continuation and later merger of the two companies into one.
The start
W. Moltke Langhoff and Frederik Schade
Vestjyllands Papirposefabrik was started by W. Moltke Langhoff, who ran a wholesale paper business in Asylgade 5 in Skive. In 1879, he started producing paper bags, which were delivered to his customers among the merchants. It was handmade and most of the employees were women.
In 1897, Frederik Schade started a similar production in Nykøbing Mors. In 1900, the two factories in Skive merged and Frederik Schade took over the management of Vestjyllands Papirposefabrik, which was now equipped with modern bag-making machines. In 1906, Schade became the sole owner of the paper bag factory.
The entrepreneur Schade
Frederik Schade was an entrepreneur. He developed a method of folding wrapping paper so that the rolls of paper took up less space in stores. He developed machines that could fold the paper and managed to patent the system, which was marketed under the name “Bitewind”.
Frederiksdal
In early 1912 Schade bought the neighboring property to “Tambohus”, the smallholding “Frederiksdal”, located on the hill west of Skive Church. Skive Folkeblad reported on January 26, 1912: “It is Mr. Schade’s intention to use one of the property’s buildings for storage and space for a machine of his own invention for folding and rolling up wrapping paper on such rolls that are used in stores. It is Mr. Schade’s intention to lease out the warehouse.”
Industrial production and limited liability company
By 1915, the production of folded roll paper had developed to the point where industrial production could be started. “A/S Schades Rullepapirindustri” was established to manage this with a share capital of DKK 60,000. – This was later increased to DKK 180,000 in 1919, when the company bought the new, large factory building in Frederiksdal, which Schade had had built according to drawings by architect Erik V. Lind. At the same time, Vestjyllands Papirsposefabrik in Asylgade was transformed into a limited company with Carl Kaiser, who had run a grocery store in Adelgade 16 from 1905 to 1915, as manager.
Crisis
In the years 1915-1920, A/S Schades Rullepapirindustri was a good business, but in 1920 the factory was hit by the price drop after World War I and lost a large amount on inventory. From 1921, no dividends were paid, and in 1926 Schade was financially stuck. In his wife’s words, Schade was effectively ruined, and in 1927 he moved to Copenhagen, where he took over the agency for A/S Schades Rullepapirindustri. Here, Fr. Schade died on November 1, 1927, and the agency passed to his wife.
Reconstruction
As mentioned above, Carl Kaiser, who was the manager of A/S Vestjyllands Papirsposefabrik, drew up a reconstruction plan for A/S Schades Rullepapirindustri in 1926. As part of the reconstruction, A/S Schade’s Rolled Paper Industry ceased operations, and the factory building in Frederiksdal and the right to exploit Schade’s patents were leased to A/S Vestjyllands Papirsposefabrik. After the reconstruction, the company’s name was changed to “A/S Schades Rullepapirindustri og Vestjyllands Papirsposefabrik”. Carl Kaiser only managed the merged factories for a short period. He died on September 25, 1926, only 47 years old, after a fall. After his death, Johannes Schwartz, who had run a grocery store at Adelgade 14 from 1899 to 1926, became director of the factory. In the late 1920s, the entire paper bag production was moved to Frederiksdal, and in the early 1930s, the factory began manufacturing calculators and cash registers. In 1935, it employed around 50 workers in four areas: wrapping paper (roll paper), paper bags, counting rolls and bookbinding.
Sources:
- Skive Venstreblad October 28, 1926
- Skive Folkeblad December 6, 1935, July 12, 1944